Aprilia SR 150 unveiled at the Auto Expo. EDIT: Priced at Rs. 65,000

This is a discussion on Aprilia SR 150 unveiled at the Auto Expo. EDIT: Priced at Rs. 65,000 within Motorbikes, part of the BHP India category; Originally Posted by Turbohead
How is the ride quality? Is it back breaking? I'm thinking of getting one for my ...

How is the ride quality? Is it back breaking? I'm thinking of getting one for my college commute, which is about 50 km a day.
I know it's a sin to ask about mileage for this scooter but how much can one expect?

Don't think the ride is anywhere close to back breaking. The rear shock is quite nice actually. The front is where the road feedback is sharp. I learnt quickly that holding the handlebar loose went a long way in improving my front end stability. Basically, I was trying to wrestle it around - much like my RX. Its too refined for that kind of stuff. Simple, smooth inputs is what you need to give it and the rewards are very sweet.

In my opinion, the tires become slightly softer after some running in. That'll improve things even more.

Took delivery of our SR 150 yesterday . Experience was pretty similar to what nitrogary experienced . Lack of communication after booking in August , took my anxiety to a all new level .

Finally , got a vall all of a sudden on Thursday last week that the scooter is ready and the payments can be made

OTR 74540

replacing an ageing RTR 160 and a wego with this . Given a chance i would buy another one of these , one for me and this one for my wife . My wife had a huuuuuuuge grin on her face when she rode it the first time .

Absolute wonder .

forget the exaust note and all the plastic quality and all those things aside and focus on what she does when you turn the accelerator , and I swear , you wont take a second look at a bike . Love it wayyyy too much .

Took delivery of our SR 150 yesterday . Experience was pretty similar to what nitrogary experienced . Lack of communication after booking in August , took my anxiety to a all new level .

Finally , got a vall all of a sudden on Thursday last week that the scooter is ready and the payments can be made

OTR 74540

replacing an ageing RTR 160 and a wego with this . Given a chance i would buy another one of these , one for me and this one for my wife . My wife had a huuuuuuuge grin on her face when she rode it the first time .

Absolute wonder .

forget the exaust note and all the plastic quality and all those things aside and focus on what she does when you turn the accelerator , and I swear , you wont take a second look at a bike . Love it wayyyy too much .

I got the chance to have a look at the Aprilia a few days back, and took it for a short test ride.

I am not really a bike person, and do not own any 2 wheeler as of now. I have ridden my friends' bikes and scooters in college, but that doesn't really count. Anyway.

This is a sort of first impressions I had after the test ride:

When you walk upto it, the first thing you notice is how compact it looks. I doesn't at first glance appear to be any bigger than the activa. Get right next to it, and then you'll see that its taller than most bikes, and the wide tires and the big engine do catch your attention too.

Special mention goes to those tires. I think the only bike this side of 2L rupees that has wider tires than this is the Yamaha FZ. That's how chunky the wheels are on this thing, its brilliant. More on that later.

The Motoplex showroom here in Kochi is quite nice, tastefully done decor everywhere. I have no complaints about the showroom itself, but some of the staff there are just.. bad. If i someday go there to buy that gorgeous Moto Guzzi which is worth some 20L, and if this is the sort of service I get, then I will think very hard before placing an order here.

Anyway, the bike. Such was the demand for TDs for this, that there was actually a small queue of people waiting to ride it. We were all instructed to take a short drive through the service road and back.

I instantly made a mental note that I will not be satisfied with that, and that I would drive a lot further.

So when it was my turn, I got onto it, and what struck me immediately, was the way it idled. It was not the refined hum of all the other scooters. Instead it was more of a rough tappety sound, and there were a fair bit of vibes through the floorboard and the handlebar. Huh, interesting.

Also, the bike is rather tall, which meant that me being the short-ass I was, couldn't place my feet flat on the ground. I had to tippy toe. That will take some getting used to.

Stuck the provided helmet onto my head, and I was off. In the slow moving service road traffic, it felt exactly the same as any other scooter. In fact, it felt a bit lazier. If you've ever driven an access, you'll remember how eagerly it lunges off the line even on part throttle. There was none of that here.
"Could it be broken already?" I wonder, and I kept moving forward, lost in my thoughts.

In doing so, I missed the turn I meant to take. Shit, I'll take the next one instead. The next turn came up, and I turned into a typical inner Ernakulam road, full of tight corners, and random traffic.

Now I was too chicken to go very fast in the corners in a new scooter that was too tall for me, but even then I could feel how chuckable it was. Forget your commuter 150cc bikes, this is even better doing this sort of thing than even the aforementioned FZ. And no, I'm not exaggerating.
You can lean into these small twists with absolute ease, and its so easy to place the front to where you want to go. Its almost telepathic, how this fella responds to changes in direction. Oh, this I could get used to very quickly.

Maybe it won't be able to hold the line if I go faster, but at these speeds, its brilliant.

Woah, le wild cyclist suddenly appears. I instinctively pull both brake levers, hard. No fishtailing, no fuss. It stopped very quickly indeed. These brakes are very good, and have a very nice bite.
If I have a complaint, its how the brakes work. If you're a bit gentle with it, there's not enough braking force for hard stops. But if you go harder, then it all comes in very sharply and it stops so hard you'll fly off the front. Good for panic braking, not so good otherwise. I sort of wish there was something in between.

I suppose that the wide tires have a big role to play here. These tires are of a sporty tread and seem to be a lot stickier than any other scooter tire. Full marks to Aprilia for providing us with such good wheels

There is a short straight, and I open it up a little, the noise changes from being a low grumble to a nice 'ARRRRRRRRRR'

You know what, it sounds very similar to the Duke. LOL, no wonder that aunty jumped out of the way.

So now I start to fiddle about with the switches on it. They are a bit plasticky.They do the job fine, but you do wonder if they'll last in the long term.

It was at this point I realised I was lost.

So I stopped to ask for directions. The bloke I was talking to was very interested in the scooter, and asked me a few questions about it. I answered as best as I could, and then moved on.

A few moments later, I enter the main road, near the Palarivattom roundabout. I proceed towards the signal junction, and now I turn it up a wick. And now there are some bad potholes and rutted roads in front. I saw it too late, and then decided not to try braking at the last moment for fear of locking up.

'THUD-A-THUD-A-THUD' No no no, I don't like this, I don't like this at all.

This then, is the drawback of that stiff setup. Don't get me wrong, it still rides better than the activa, which has a truly horrible ride.

It doesn't crash through the bumps; there is some amount of damping going on. I was however, expecting some more cushioning when I saw those meaty 14" wheels and that proper suspension, at both ends. There is no doubt at all, that this is a true Aprilia. He is set up for handling, much more than for comfort. Eh, you win some, you lose some I guess.

Past the signal, and finally I get some open road . Right then,show me what you can really do.

I twist the throttle halfway from a speed of around 10, and NOTHING.

"What the..". The girl in the Wego next to me is pulling away faster. The needle climbs past 20, and then, ARRRRRRRRRR

Mother of God, this thing is fast! 30...40...60...70....80....90.

I am now zooming past absolutely everyone! Lean left past the Indica. Hard right past the low floor Volvo, Woah, just zipped past two bikes, and I couldn't even see the rest.

He is no longer the grumbling, back breaking city roads hater. I am throwing this thing around gaps in traffic faster than I've ever done so with any bike in my life! This little scooter is truly a little racing machine.

And I don't have to do anything other than just twist the throttle, so its all so easy! I hit an indicated 95 and he's not showing any signs of slowing down at all. However the turn off to the showroom is approaching, and I slow down.

I stop in front of the showroom, and the SA is pissed that I took so long to return. I only half heard him. I was grinning so widely inside the helmet that its a wonder he didn't spot it. Anyway, I wait for a moment to calm myself, and get off.

My verdict after just a short spin on the new Aprilia? Don't buy it if you just want a scooter to drive to the shops and go to your office. It really doesn't like city roads and traffic, and at those speeds you will be left behind by other scooters. Its not comfortable, its not very refined, and its pretty basic featurewise. Heck, you don't even get a side stand as standard.

You will end up getting annoyed with it very quickly once the initial honeymoon phase is over.

However, if you are someone who will be using it for some long rides, preferably on smooth highways, or some nice twisties, then it makes more sense. As the speeds climb, gone are the vibrations, gone is the hard ride and it becomes a proper little racer. It felt alive at those speeds, nimble and eager to zip past other traffic. Piaggio has created something special here, something which can plaster a silly grin on your face, which will make you forget about its iffy low speed ride and questionable build quality.

This is set to be a true blockbuster hit. Let's hope that they don't get greedy and hike the prices too much too quickly.

Went for second test ride yesterday and booked by paying 2K cash at Kian Motors Panvel.

After my first test ride (Aug end) only negative I found were the vibrations on handle bar at idling which was holding me from booking one, but yesterday observed noticeable reduction in those vibrations, not sure but could be due the usage of the test vehicle over the period.
Deliveries have started from 1st week of Oct, my booking is expected to be delivered by month end.

As per dealer they have 140 booking and appx 800 across Mumbai. Looking at the product and price numbers look pretty low to me.

Although it is normal not be worried about the mileage of a performance oriented scooter but when I went for a test ride, the sales guy said to expect a mileage in the range of 30-35. I confirmed this with other dealers in Pune as well. Can anyone presently owning it throw some light on the mileage of the scooter? I am again thinking of owning a two wheeler for small errands after owning the good old pulsar 150 for 5 years and then cars ever since.

My observations from the test ride. I had a fairly long test ride.Pros
1. It's a hoot to drive. Both the handling and power are exceptional. It can reach speeds of 80 in no time. It's nothing like any other scooter in the market.
2. Looks. IMHO First real scooter favouring the males. It's not just a sticker job with racy decals. The exhaust note matches the looks and performance too.
3. High speed (70+) stability. 14 inch alloys with those fat tyres play a big role here.
4. Exclusivity. Tired of seeing those activas on road. And looking at the feedback, this one is not going to set the sales chart on fire or even close to it.

CONS
1. Mileage (30-35) as reported by the sales guy. This although not affecting people looking for performance, can be a deal breaker for many.
2. Brakes. No doubt they have good stopping power but because of the available performance, the brakes need more modulation. The initial soft application has little response followed by a sharp response on heavier applications. Not very ideal in wet conditions.
3. Vibrations at idle.
4. Ride. It is better than activa but the new access125 is better.
5. Headlamps are inadequate. Little stretch was on a poorly lit road with drizzles and I struggled to spot the road.
6. Mirrors. I tried all the combinations but couldn't get them to work ideally. Very little coverage. On another note, I sincerely request everyone not to ride without the mirrors. You never know what is coming behind you and at what speed. Sometimes it is ok to miss a u turn/turn if someone is speeding behind you and you have to brake.
7.Space. Little cramped footboard and limited under seat storage. I feel two reasons to buy scooters over motorcycles are automatic transmission and space.

Again these are my personal views. The performance itself could be the deciding factor for many. Me, I am just going to continue with my research with new access 125, avenger 150, gixxer and Aprilia 150 all in contention.

My friend got his Aprillia SR150 delivered during the Dussera week. Had a short ride on it.

Observations

1. Brakes. The front brakes have excellent bite and braking ability. The rear brakes are nothing to write home about.
2. Stiff Suspension - Easy to ride hard on this. But the people who like softer ride will find it uncomfortable
3. Good amount of power for a scooter.
4. Exhaust note is a bit weird when its revved hard.
5. Seats are bit on the firmer side.
6. Plastic quality and switch gear is below average.

But the package at 83k (approx) on road, I would not be complaining much as this is a hoot to ride.